Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 5.djvu/136

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [io th s. v. FEB. 10, im


phalia. He distinguished himself in the Franco-German War, which broke out eight months after the above letter was written. What was the writer's later life'? Is he still in the land of the living? What is the title of the book he alludes to?

G. KRUEGER. Berlin.

STERNE AND JOHNSON AT "THE CHESHIRE CHEESE." I have a faint remembrance of seeing an autograph letter of Sterne's exposed for sale in a shop in Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square, in which Sterne says he met Johnson and another (I am not certain whether Goldsmith or Boswell) in " the Old Cheshire Cheese " Tavern in Wine Office Court, Fleet Street.

The probability that the traditions of this ancient house are correct is very strong, but the finding and publication of such a letter by a contemporary writer would place the matter beyond dispute. Perhaps an inquiry in your valuable paper may lead those who are in the possession of Sterne's unpublished letters to read them carefully for this fact.

That the tavern existed within twenty yards of the place where Goldsmith wrote 'The Vicar of Wakefield,'and was not visited by him and his companions, and that such a tempting bill of fare existed and was un- known to such "good livers," passes my comprehension. But Boswell is silent upon the subject, and we want evidence.

W. LEWIS REID.

160, Green Lanes, N.

AUTHORS OF QUOTATIONS WANTED. Are the following lines by Browning or Byron ; and in which poem do they occur ?

Is there never a chink in the world above Where they listen to words from below ?

EDWARD LATHAM.

Can any reader give me a reference for the lines that run something like this ?

Who has a voice like thine To falter forth a sorrow? Dost think man would go mad without a groan,

Had he the means to borrow A music like thine own ?

R. L.

KING : JOACHIN CARDOZA. Can any of your readers give me information with re- gard to Mr. Joseph King, a picturesque figure in Nelson's wars? Mr. King was a Spaniard, his real name being Joachin Car- doza. He served as a "first-class volunteer" under Nelson, and besides the grant of a house and land at Gibraltar for his services


to the English Government, he received a pension for two lives as a reward for a con- spicuously gallant act. He also was pre- sented with a piece of plate by Lord St. Vincent for saving a soldier's life at the risk of his own. Nelson in published letters speaks of him as being a "gentleman " and as a "friend" of his. Mr. King became chief constructor at Pembroke Dockyard. He had two sons, William and Richard, both of whom were commanders in the royal navy. I should be glad of any facts concerning them.

S. S.

4 CENTURY OF PERSIAN GHAZELS,' 1851. Is it known who was the author of a charm- ing little book published in 1851 under the title 'A Century of Persian Ghazels, from Unpublished Diwans ' ? This must not be confused with Samuel Robinson's * Century of Ghazels/ 1875, which appears to be a totally different work. Any information as to the identity of the author will be very welcome. JAS. PLATT, Jun.

LACONIC LETTERS. I am making a collec- tion of laconic letters, typified by the famous correspondence between Rich, the theatrical manager, and Quin, the actor : "Dear Quin, I am at Bath." " Dear Rich, Stay there and be damned." If any readers of ' N. & Q.' can help me to similar pithy correspondence I shall be very much obliged.

RUDOLPH DE CORDOVA.

2, Pump Court, Middle Temple, E C.

DUBLIN RECORDS. Can any reader of 'N. & Q.' oblige me with the name of a trustworthy searcher at the Record Office, Dublin 1 Please reply direct.

P. REDMOND.

Erzsebet Korut, 15, Budapest, Hungary.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY VOLUNTEERS. Are these volunteers, which were in existence at the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth, mentioned in any memoirs or other books on Oxford ? Jackson's * Journal' and the Record Office provide a good many facts about the two corps preceding that now in existence, which I wish to supplement from other sources.

TATHAM'S LIFE OF BLAKE. Can you or any of your readers oblige me with infor- mation as to a Life of William Blake written by (I think) a Mr. C. Tatham ? If I remem- ber aright, Swinburne and Gilchrist quote from this work in their essays on Blake. Has this work ever been published or privately printed ? or where may the original